Strand of Memories
by HybridMoments129
Summary: Something needs to be fixed in the universe, especially when Sora's friends betray him. Heavy story progression, SoraxNamine. Rated T for language and complex logic.
1. Something Awry

A message in a bottle, he thought to himself. Someone didn't know where he was and wanted to get in contact with him.

He tossed the bottle up into the air, timing it so that he would unsheathe his blade and cleave through it right as it passed his field of vision. The note inside was barely touched, but the bottle itself was chopped very cleanly in half. The glass shattered against the cold rock bed beneath Sora's feet, the first sound this particular cave had heard since he found it.

It had been about a year since the last time Sora had been close to anyone or anything besides the Keyblade. For a while, it seemed like that would be the only thing he could get close to. After all, in his mind and his words, "Nobody would put up with my lifestyle, much less anything else about me." The blade was a lot quicker now, at least, he reassured himself, and a lot sharper. He had taken refuge in a forest on some godforsaken world he had never heard of before, having to sleep with one eye open so he could fend off goblins when they came through his camp four to five times a night to try to steal his food. But it was better to be living in this small cave, even if it was sticking out of that forest like a sore thumb... Especially considering it was the only solid part of his home world that he could find.

He had to restrain himself from going back to kill so many people he used to call his friends. Nobody was at fault, after all, at least, nobody who was willing to take the blame for it. But if people had shed more light on the situation earlier, like they should have, maybe he could have fixed the problems. Now an intergalactic war was being waged between light and darkness. The Council of Light, which was responsible for the blade he was holding right now, started to attack the darkness in full force without fully realizing what kind of repercussion that would have on the balance in the various worlds Sora and his friends still remained on.

To him, Destiny Islands was their stepping stone, and those who tore it apart were his enemies. But that couldn't have mattered much in light of everything that had happened.

His Moonlight Sonata key had the sharpest edge he had ever seen, to the point that Sephiroth's Masamune didn't even slice through things as cleanly. The blade held a beautiful, silvery reflective surface in the sunlight, with only its edge showing the frosty white hamon that it had received when Sora learned how to summon it. This blade was the only one he had ever summoned without the use of a keychain. The blade itself actually consisted of two straight in-line blades that met at the handle and at the tip, with the teeth of the key taking a crescent shape and sharply curving down toward the front to meet the other blade. The front had a straight shape except at the tip, where it met the back blade, and eased into a slight curve to create a sharp hook where the two blades met. The blade itself was very long, almost as tall as Sora was, and the hand guard resembled the Heartless symbol, with blades along its edge. Due to oxidation, it held a very light blue tinge, but he didn't care. It was a solid symbolization of nothing short of his own heart – tormented, yet still incredibly strong.

To put it quite simply, there was no doubt in his mind that this thing would have cut clean through both the bottle and the paper inside with no problem. Someone had enchanted this paper so that nothing could be done to it until it was read.

Sora picked it up with his left hand, aiming his key at the firewood next to him and casting Fire on it. It was the first time he'd used the spell since leaving Donald and Goofy behind at Mickey's Castle, while he would have to go out and save the rest of the world. The note itself was in a fine cursive, its letters simply rolling into one another.

His eyes glowed with an ungodly anger as he looked carefully at the page, the urge to throw it in the fire building very suddenly.

"Sora, we need to talk. Something terrible is happening, and I need your help."

While Sora was in no mood to speak to the King, his mood toward the matter certainly changed when he saw the campfire he had just lit disappear from view as it fell off the edge of the world.

"Shit!" he exclaimed out loud, making a mad dash for his stolen Kingdom Gummi ship. The world around him was collapsing, and it looked like he wasn't alone – the stars were blinking out one by one.

As he strapped in to the pilot's seat on the small red and yellow vehicle, the ignition drowning out the sounds of thousands of goblins screaming and running for cover, a single, solitary thought crossed his mind:

"All that work, and those fucking goblins STILL ate my food."

Sora made his way to Mickey's Castle, where he was promptly confronted and arrested for stealing a Gummi ship, breaking out of prison, and unauthorized use of a Keyblade on private property. All of these charges, of course, Sora completely understood, but felt he didn't deserve, because his actions led to the safekeeping of seven different worlds in the recent past.

"Sora, what has gotten into you these days?" the King asked, staring at him through the steel bars. "I turn my back for one second, and you go crazy! Everyone in the castle is afraid that if I talk to ya, we'll end up killin' each other!"

"Can you blame them?" he replied. "It's not like it's my fault all of this started happening. You went and brown-nosed into my business."

"It's not like that at all, Sora. And that's what I called ya here to tell ya." Mickey had a rare sad face. "Things fall apart quickly around here, ya know."

"Talking about Minnie?" he asked. It was no big secret that Minnie had been taken by the darkness just a few days prior to his arrival. Sora was in no mood to be civil – he never struck this low before, not even with Xehanort.

"That's not what I called ya here for, either, pal." Mickey seemed ready to cry at any given moment from this comment.

"Well then tell me and let me go." He began very angrily, but his voice trailed off into melancholy as he reiterated his initial point. "You and I both know I don't deserve to be here…"

"Golly. When ya put it that way, ya make me sound like the bad guy."

Sora quickly defended himself. "Sorry. I'm just…"

"Still upset over Kairi."

It seemed the mouse was awfully well-informed, and knew exactly where to strike in order to get Sora's attention. Just after Sora left Destiny Islands to embark on a mission – to save two fellow wielders of the Keyblade – the entire world collapsed. Kairi and Riku were nowhere to be found, and everything Sora held sacred was once again taken from him. The only difference between then and now was the ability to understand what had happened.

Sora shook his fist in anger, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "You know, it would be easier if I didn't have people reminding me of it."

"Sora, calm down," Mickey said. "Donald and Goofy are still worried sick about ya! And…"

"Are they still looking to apologize for selling me out? Give them this message from me: I wouldn't have done it to them, and I have no reason to forgive them."

"I know ya don't, pal… I also know you have no reason to forgive me." At this point, the tears Mickey could have shed disappeared. He buried his face in his hands for a moment, rubbed the restlessness from his eyes the best he could, and pulled up a seat.

He was right. Sora had been under the impression that his work was done, that what he was doing now was purely for the good of the universe. Riku and Kairi were still alive, somewhere, at least according to all the sources he'd known. But it was still the King's fault for not telling Sora everything he knew. Mickey had been a member of the Council of Light for many years, and it was his decision to hide the underlying issues between light and darkness from everyone else that eventually led to an all-out war. Had he known, Sora's little journey would have been finished a long time ago, without the destruction of so many worlds and the deaths of so many friends. Of course, the King was only doing what he thought was right at the time, Sora reminded himself repeatedly, but it was still no excuse.

"But, as evidenced by the fact that I'm here, I'm ready to believe I can." His eyes held a certain character to them, a subtle hint of sincerity peaking in his voice. "I forgive you… at least for now."

Mickey seemed instantly relieved. "Golly… Thanks. Sora, you know, I been thinkin'…"

"Something's still not right with the universe."

"Yep. It seems to me that the Heartless are still not too happy with the idea of being beaten. What I found… well, you're not gonna like it."

"What did you find?" Sora said, nervously gripping his Keyblade and flicking it in and out of its holster. Kairi made it for him while he was on break. It allowed for a faster draw than summoning, and also ensured that he'd be able to use it regardless.

Mickey's face held a grimace the likes of which Sora had never seen before. "Welp… it seems like we got most everything right. The Heartless need to be destroyed in every world, and they need to not be discovered by the people who tried to use 'em in their quest to take over the worlds. What I believe happened is that the Heartless shouldn't have even been discovered."

Sora drew his blade and slammed it into the ground. "You're saying that I'm the one who caused all this?" His anger had reached a fever pitch.

"Not exactly, pal. But what I do believe has happened here is something you're not gonna like. A paradoxical element, from what I gather." Mickey drew closer to the bars.

"Paradoxical element? What do you mean?" Sora asked, pulling his blade from the ground.

"Well, think about it, Sora. Wasn't there always somethin' that just didn't feel right about the entire situation?"

"I guess so, but what does all this have to do with our island?" Sora asked impatiently.

"Welp… I don't think Riku stickin' around after ya sealed the Nobodies away was such a good idea."

"I already knew this was where you were headed." Sora snickered.

"But I got a much more important question in mind," Mickey retorted. "Why is it that none o' these worlds sealed up after ya sealed the Keyholes? There were still thousands of the Heartless swimmin' around out there! Sometimes literally!"

"So what are you saying?" Sora questioned impatiently.

"I'm sayin'… Maybe the whole reason all this happened is 'cause you weren't supposed to be seen around those parts." Mickey took out a notebook. "Here – Ansem the Wise gave me this before he died. Thought ya might find it useful."

The bookmark was stuck in a page, denoted with a large red "Caution" sign on it. Sora opened up to the page and looked at the diagram.

"Now, ya see, right there, he's talkin' about how light and darkness are only supposed to meet at the End of the World, become a spirit, and join the worlds through a barrier only spirits can cross. There, they find a creature about to be given life, and create a heart inside of it… Sounded real shaky to me, but… it can't be overlooked."

"So what are you saying?" Sora asked.

"I'm sayin' that if nobody else is supposed to cross through that barrier – Heartless, Nobodies, and so on – then we got some serious trouble on our hands. And if anything – or anyone – sneaks through, unless they don't change anything that wasn't meant to be changed in that world, the barrier will never return."

"So is that what this diagram is supposed to represent?" Sora asked as he pointed to the time chamber.

"Yep. Basically, what he's tryin' ta say is that we got trouble on our hands if those world barriers never come back." Mickey threw a coat into the cell, then took his out and put it on. "It'll be much easier with one o' these to get around. You need to go back in time and sort this mess out."

"Back in time! What? How the hell am I gonna do that?" Sora said, flustered, as he took his Keyblade's scabbard and strapped it to the outside of the coat.

"According to the diagram, you can just go to the End of the World, and use the memory portals. But unfortunately…"

Sora didn't guess it, but rather said it aloud. "I'm going alone."

"Sorry, pal. We can't help ya here."

"No. Even if you could…"

"Oh…"

Sora, Donald and Goofy had been great friends until Riku was discovered alive on Destiny Islands. By the end of everything, Riku had generated a lot of hate toward himself, partly for being so aloof and alone, and partly for nearly killing everyone. But Sora and Kairi found it in themselves to forgive him – Sora, at least, did it for an entirely different reason. He knew where Kairi's heart, her resolve, laid, and even knowing that his own best friend was the person she had fallen in love with wouldn't stop him from making her happy.

Donald and Goofy had been under orders to kill Riku. And Sora was the one who had to fight them off. His best friends had betrayed him.

"She was gonna be miserable without him. And with them to blame for his death… I just can't." Sora hesitated for a moment, running his blade across his fingers to test the sharpness again.

"I know these things can't be forgiven so easily, but ya gotta try. If anything, it's my fault." Mickey pulled his gold and silver Keyblade out and shot a silvery white beam of light into the lock on Sora's door. "Besides… You know what's right. I trust ya wholeheartedly on that front."

"Mickey…" Sora sighed deeply. "I appreciate all the faith you're putting me. Thank you. But… I don't know if I can trust myself."

Mickey pointed his key at Sora's. "That there says ya can. And ya will. Ya know, if it wasn't so gosh-darn important they didn't go with ya, I'd send 'em along. But… like I said… this has to be a stealth mission. And if it don't work, we can't say we never tried."

"So, just to be clear," Sora repeated, "my mission is to prevent the Heartless from shaking things up in any of the other worlds, and see what happens without my influence. Am I right so far?"

"Yep. Somehow I have a feeling Riku wouldn't have turned evil if Ansem hadn't been allowed to break into your world. And the Unversed probably had somethin' to do with it, but I can't figure out for the life o' me what they did."

"Well, let's recap first," Sora said. "Because there's no way in hell I'm going out there blind."

"Okay," the King replied. "First off…"

As the King explained what was going on, things started to make more sense. The Unversed were an extension of Vanitas – the first forms ever to come to manifestation as a result of the dark and light bonds within an already living person being severed – unintentionally created by Ansem the Wise. Unversed, however, were only manifested by emotion – they themselves had nothing to do with severing bonds with the heart. Xehanort had run countless experiments on them in order to recreate the circumstances behind their birth, and eventually created the Heartless. Eventually, Xehanort became a Heartless himself, his heart confiscated for its horrific crimes. However, among the Heartless were a very small select few who were willing to make things right again – bring balance to the world – and aided Sora in his quest.

And thus birthed the Nobodies – bodies created from hearts that were so strong, their bodies continued to search for them with the hope of someday returning to the way things were before their theft. Nobodies were the light and darkness without the heart – they were born of emptiness, and tried to reclaim Kingdom Hearts so that those hearts could return to them. When Sora destroyed them, they split back into their basic forms of light and darkness, to later be reunited again when the time was right.

In other words, darkness could not come into a world without its equal counterpart in light, and a heart could not be created without either. So how does a heart get created in a world? Light and darkness have to unite, balance each other, and become a whole inside of a person. This is why there are special exceptions to these rules – for instance, Kairi, who is purely of light, and Xehanort, who was able to survive without the light. But Xehanort himself was purely evil – regardless of whether or not he was pure darkness – and was seen as unfit to rule the Heartless, because there was a divide among the good and evil sides of the darkness.

The end result was that, as manifestations of evil darkness, the Heartless themselves were never meant to be, and all of Sora's effort to destroy them only served to ensure their ability to thrive. Time manipulation, as it seemed, was only possible when the Heartless were in play, because their existence is paradoxical in the first place. So it was possible (and probable, at this point) that Xehanort ended up going back in time when he created the first Heartless, taking his notes with him, and influencing Riku into joining him instead. This would explain why Sora and Riku ended up fighting in the first place.

The ability to get through this barrier was entirely paradoxical. Riku and Xehanort should never have met.

"Riku is NOT evil," Sora reassured Mickey. "Even if he is a little misled sometimes… I don't think KILLING him is the right thing to do!"

"Okay, Sora," he replied. "But ya gotta admit, there's some logic to my argument. If this is what's goin' on, ya know…"

Sora had been facing this possibility for quite some time. He did know that, after Destiny Islands collapsed for a second time, it was entirely Riku's fault - he saw the man, standing at the gate, letting the Heartless have their way. Sora, however, was much more concerned with answers than placing blame. After all, Riku had been his best friend for years – it was entirely unlike him to go ahead and allow the Heartless safe passage to the heart of the world, thereby destroying it from the inside out.

"I've got to get to the bottom of this," Sora repeated. "Mickey... I'm grateful for your help, but I'm afraid this is where I say my final goodbye."

Mickey nodded his head. "Oh, Sora?"

"Yes?"

"Don't mention this to the mechanics, but you can keep the Gummi ship."

"Thanks."


	2. Our Favorite Little Spit of Land

_**A/N: Wow… I didn't expect the response I got. Thanks, guys! I didn't really intend originally to keep working on this. It was really a sort of compilation of different conversations I'd had with old friends of mine about the possibilities in the Kingdom Hearts universe. But I'm actually already getting motivated to keep this story going, especially since the draft has been a work in progress since 2004 or so. Updates may be few and far between, but that's because I take college courses.**_

I hope he doesn't hate me, she thought to herself.

She could see, off in the distance, a presence coming slowly toward hers. Or maybe it was speeding? It was too far away for her to figure out, much less pass judgment, as to how fast or slow it was moving. One thing was for certain, though: It wanted her help, in some way or another. She thought it could be Sora, but these things weren't exactly working out in recent days – she figured that wasn't entirely her fault.

"Hello again, Hayner…" she said in a hushed tone as she walked past the alleyway. The usual spot behind the fence had been unoccupied for a few days now – probably because Hayner and his friends were either at the beach, eating ice cream atop the tower, or picking a fight with Seifer and his gang again, none of which seemed to be the case – and Namine began to worry.

"Hayner… Pence… Olette…" She repeated to herself. "I miss you guys…"

A sudden crash interrupted her train of thought. Namine immediately ran from the alley into the train station terminal, hoping that something new and exciting could be happening here after the past few weeks.

…To some avail, at least.

The dazed, battered and beaten Sora stumbled out of the Gummi ship somewhat drunkenly, though ten times as much of that was his feeling extremely sheepish over the situation.

"Sora…?" Namine asked as she took a good look at the Gummi ship that had crash-landed into the middle of the train station.

Sora took a few steps forward, somewhat stumbling along the way, before his left foot came across a rail and caused him to lose his balance. He fell to the ground face-first, though he quickly regained his composure upon hearing a familiar voice.

"Kairi!" he shouted, jumping up to his feet with an energy he felt he'd never have again just a few moments prior. But his happy-go-lucky attitude was over about as quickly as it had come.

"Uh…" Namine sighed. "I guess… I mean, I'm still part of her! Cheer up." She forced herself to smile between taking a good look at him and wincing from sympathy for the sudden pain that he must have felt.

"Namine, it's okay," Sora replied. "I'm okay, I think." Though his eyes didn't reflect it, he was somewhat happy to see her. Even if it was only somewhat, it was better than nothing. Basic knowledge of the human heart told Sora that, in order for either a Heartless or a Nobody to exist, the heart from which that form was born is required to still be alive. So, for the blonde-haired, green-eyed spitting image of Sora's best friend to be standing in front of him, Kairi would still have to exist somewhere.

"Uh… Sora?" Namine said somewhat haphazardly. "You're… bleeding…"

He glanced at the light cut running the length of his left leg. "It's not deep. I'll be okay," he reassured her, although he wasn't as sure of his own words as he'd let on.

"We should still… get you to a doctor or something? I dunno. I've never had to deal with things like this before." Namine had evidence of panic in her voice. Her feelings, for a Nobody, at least, were quite convincing.

"It doesn't matter to me," Sora said. "My only goal is to get this damn thing running again." He looked at the Gummi ship. "Damn Mickey…"

"Mickey? You mean the King?" Namine asked sharply and suddenly.

"Yes. Seems he took the liberty of siphoning some fuel from the tank." Sora gripped the hilt of his blade somewhat angrily.

"So, is that it… But wait, I thought the tank ran on happy feelings and smiles?" Namine said somewhat haphazardly. It was evident between the two of them that none of this was remotely close to being planned, much less within the realms of possibility, until it actually happened.

"It's a cute and cuddly thought. But the truth is, no." The hilt of Sora's blade reflected the dark, murky color of the billowing smoke coming from the inside of the ship. "They used to use pure light energy, to displace all the darkness that was destroyed when I had enough issues with Heartless. But recently, the fuel tanks have been remodeled for spiritual energy, which is given off when I destroy enemies, drawn through the Keyblade into the ship's gas tank by way of the teeth acting as a conduit."

"I see…" Namine pretended to understand. "So uhh… what does that mean, exactly?"

"It means that if I see a Heartless or a Nobody, they're as good as worm food." Sora drew the Moonlight Sonata and pointed it in the direction of the alleyway.

Namine cringed. "You don't mean me, do you?"

Sora turned his head and stared at her for a moment, blinking his eyes twice. "You're a Nobody?"

"Technically, yes," Namine replied. "What, did you think I was something else?"

"Well… no… it's just that…" Sora turned his head away solemnly, putting the Keyblade back into its holster. "You could have fooled me. You've got more personality than they do."

Namine put her hands behind her back and crossed her legs, looking to the floor sheepishly as Kairi always did.

"Stop that," he said. "You're giving me the fuckin' chills."

Namine was a very timid young woman. The memories she had of Sora were very good ones, but she still lacked the courage necessary to be something more, as far as he went. But she felt so… whole around him. It was a truly unique feeling, one that Sora himself lacked an adequate description of. It would make sense, after all. Kairi, for as much as she could have loved Riku, forced herself to love him in order to accept her destiny. It was a secret she kept only with Sora, as proof-positive that, even with Riku's tenacious feelings growing ever more unorganized by the day, she would always secretly love Sora as a friend, maybe even a brother. Or maybe something more than that… but Sora would never know, nor find out now.

"Namine… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that."

She looked at him. "No, that's not it… I just wish… I wish I could do something more." She sighed heavily.

Sora shot her a disgruntled glare for a moment, though his anger quickly faded to sadness, then to downright melancholy. He was nervous, even around this… this apparition in the shape of Kairi.

"I know you loved her, Sora."

She was right. As a matter of fact, she was beyond right. Sora devoted himself to Kairi's happiness, so much that he opted not to go home, even when given the chance, without Riku, who was the dominant man in their obsequiously dangerous love triangle. Sora and Riku were both messing with a Princess of Light, after all – one of the seven people required to open the gateway to Kingdom Hearts. So it was in Kairi's best interest that she be with the man she truly loves. And, at the time, Sora thought it was his competition that was winning the race.

Sora had given up too early… and he knew it.

A single tear dripped from the corner of Sora's eye as he recalled Kairi's last words to him. "Sora… Everything's going to be okay. I know it will. Because I know that you… can do anything."

He stormed away from Namine, his Gummi ship still sending clouds of noxious fumes and coal-colored smoke.

"Namine, get away from me." His voice took a much more assertive tone.

"What? Why?" she questioned, her voice showing a brief sign of heartbreak.

"We've got trouble. I don't want you getting mixed up in this shit." Sora pulled out his Keyblade and slashed clean through the train in front of him.

"Well, guess what? You already got me involved." Namine said furiously, jumping down to meet him as he strode across the train tracks. She ran up to him from behind and tackled him to the ground, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"What the hell!" Sora shouted.

"Tell me what's going on," she said softly into his ear. "I promise I won't use it against you."

Sora was unable to resist at this point. Namine may not have been Kairi, but she was definitely close enough to have the same effect on him, when it came to his sex drive. Ironically, Sora didn't even know he had one until this very moment.

"Alright, but let me get up."

Namine's death grip relented to let Sora breathe. "Okay, so what's going on here?" she asked.

As Sora laid the pieces of the puzzle down before her, Namine began to understand that he was telling her something drastically important. Sora's very presence in Twilight Town was a violation of his mission terms, but it didn't matter because he was going back in time anyway.

"So take me with you!" Namine said.

"No." Sora's answer was blunt and slightly cold.

"What, you don't like girls?" she asked.

"That's not—

Namine giggled. "It doesn't matter if I come with you, silly. Don't you remember? We don't exist. We're free agents."

Sora remembered this only upon Namine's reminding him of it. If he succeeded in his mission, then Namine would be re-assimilated into Kairi, thus making it as if she never existed. This was Sora's only chance at receiving any form of support for this entire mission, and she was someone he knew he could trust. Even if she was a Nobody, Sora's strong relationship with Kairi guaranteed her trust.

"But Namine… You understand what the repercussions of your coming with me mean, right?"

"Of course. And I can set the record straight, you know."

Sora hadn't thought about that. If Namine were brought back in time with him, there was a very good possibility that Kairi would grow to accept him as a lover, especially since Namine knew so much about his new dilemma.

"Besides, I can do things she can't," Namine added.

Sora blushed profusely.

"Get your mind out of the gutter!" she snapped, blushing profusely herself at the sudden revelation of what she said. "I-I meant I can use magic. That's all! M-m-magic! Yeah!" she exhaled in an exasperated fashion.

Sora looked at the floor sheepishly, the red color slowly fading from his cheeks.

"Damn… I totally fucked that up," she sighed. "Look… I just think we should hang out, is all. I mean… I don't know what it is, but I think, you know… we could make a really good team. Do you mind?" She stared at him with her big, shimmering green eyes.

Sora was taken aback by Namine's kindness and sudden directness. He thought about this for a moment.

Namine stared at him questioningly. "Well, do you mind? I mean, if you do, I can just—

"No, not at all," he finally replied. "If that's how you want it, then you're in. But I need you to be able to protect yourself, for your sake. We have no idea what we're up against just yet. Remember, this is unexplored land where we're going – the universe before the Heartless were able to invade the worlds, before they were given the freedom to, you know, slaughter the hell out of everything they got their grubby little hands on. They might be docile, or they might be totally brutal. You sure you're feeling up to this?"

"Hell yeah," she replied happily. "You can count on me!"

As Sora dug through the wreckage, he saw something moving. "Good. Because this is test number one."

The ship moved to the side, coming back into its original shape after moving. Behind it were the now slowly disappearing train tracks, evidence of the world's collapse – and a Twilight Thorn climbing to its feet.

"W-wh-what the hell is that thing!" she yelped.

"It's just another Nobody. Come to think of it, this is enough to recharge the ship."

Sora grabbed the sheath of his sword with his left hand, and assumed the position for a battojutsu technique. His blade was facing up toward his left arm, while his right hand was in position to grab the blade at a moment's notice.

One of the unique things about Sora's blade was that it was just as tactically perfect as it was beautiful. To preserve the Keyblade's qualities as a magical sword, yet give it the cutting edge it required as part of Sora's heart's reflection, the double blade design was adorned with a half chicken sickle design at the tip of the front blade, extending forward from the yokote, and a full reverse-edged chicken sickle design running from the tip of the first to the teeth of the key, where it met with the crescent shape that comprised the teeth.

This provided Sora with three main tactical advantages. First, the reverse curve at the front of the blade provided it with an extra point of strength, just above the yokote. This provided a counter-spring balance and made it so that thrusting forward would never break the blade. Second, the half-sickle extending along the edge of the blade compensated for the rest of the blade's lack of curvature, making it so that the sword's aerodynamics, weight distribution, and overall handling were no different from a standard katana. Finally, the empty space between the two blades produced a micro-vacuum which increased its speed and power. This ensured that Sora would always be able to split his target in two, whether it be by slashing or stabbing.

Sora's eyes glowed a pale blue as he stared the Twilight Thorn in the face. The gigantic beast threw a fist down from a colossal distance above Sora's head, but he rolled out of the way and through the front doors of the train station, outside to the plaza.

From here, Sora waited for the perfect opportunity to strike, building up energy in his blade until the moment the Thorn threw a punch directly toward his face.

"Sonic Blade!" he shouted. He dashed forward at lightning speed, drawing his Moonlight Sonata at the same time as the Thorn's punch started heading toward his face. With a single quick movement, Sora's blade had sliced the entire arm in two, and the wind shear produced by the second blade sent the energy of the cut all the way through the monster's shoulder and into its head. The entire right side of its right arm was destroyed, while the residual energy of the cut chopped the monster's skull completely in half.

As the Twilight Thorn died, Sora holstered the Moonlight Sonata and walked back towards Namine.

"Sora… are you alright?" she asked nervously, not entirely sure what had happened.

"I'm alright. I'm still a little shaken from that crash earlier, but that thing was easy as hell." He passed by her and slammed the bottom of his fist into the dashboard of the ship. "Come on, old girl, don't go dyin' on me… Not now…"

The Gummi ship spat and sputtered at Sora, but within seconds of the Thorn's death, it quickly sprang to life, smoke-free.

"What the… It repaired itself?" Namine asked.

"If you find that hard to believe, just wait until you hear how I got it," Sora explained. "Gummi ships are made of a kind of sticky block. The formation of the ship is input into a blueprint matching program in the ship's internal computer, which sends an electromagnetic signal to each and every block to get them to stick back together the same way they were when it took off. It's easier said than done, but the damage to begin with was pretty minor."

"I think I understand," she replied somewhat sheepishly. "Well, I guess now you have some reserve fuel if ever you need to get out in a hurry."

Sora tried not to think about that possibility, but had to remind himself that it was realistic when he considered what this mission could mean for both of them.

"Don't worry about it," she giggled. "It's not like you're really gonna need it, anyway."

Sora looked at her for a moment. "So, you ready?"

"Yeah, I guess," she replied with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Of course I'm ready! Where are we headed?"

"The End of the World."

…_and Riku…_ he quietly thought to himself.

_**A/N: I worked long and hard on the dialogue in this chapter, and it still turned up weird in certain areas. Anyway, Sora and Namine are very interesting characters, and I intend to drive that point home because they have a surprising compatibility between them that I just didn't see with Kairi. Anyway, RnR please! I really want to make this a better fic than I imagined it would be at first, and I know it can sometimes take constructive criticism to do that. **_

_**The wait for the next chapter should be no longer than two weeks. Thanks for reading!**_


	3. Sacred Yet Subtle

_**A/N: I received a comment from someone who asked me to draw a picture of the Moonlight Sonata that I designed for this story. I drafted it up on MS Paint (because that's my only available medium at the moment), and posted it as my profile avatar. So thank you, Mr. Anonymous, for asking that question. And once again, RnR please!**_

_**Oh, and I thought this would be implied, but no, I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or any of the characters created by the Disney Corporation, Square Enix, or Buena Vista. This is a fan-made work.**_

They just don't understand me anymore, he refrained from saying aloud. Someone else was now in the cockpit next to him.

For a while, the silence between Sora and Naminé had grown somewhat bitter. It wasn't that they disliked each other – far from it, in fact – but Sora didn't entirely feel comfortable letting her in on his most secret of feelings. In fact, Sora wasn't entirely comfortable with Naminé. That she was the spitting image of Kairi was one thing, but as he'd found out through Roxas, Naminé had manipulated his memories in the past. Some part of him really hoped he was making the right decision, and some other part of him prayed that she wasn't a conniving bitch. How could he possibly know what memories she manipulated, after all? She could have tried to separate him from his friends.

But, then again, how could he hate her? It wasn't her fault, he reassured himself. Naminé was being held hostage by Organization XIII and forced to do their dirty work. If Kairi did have repressed feelings for him, then Naminé would certainly reciprocate them, despite her apparent lack of a heart, solely based on Sora's actions toward her during that incident. Moreover, he knew somewhere deep inside that she did it to win his heart – a move that, while under normal circumstances would merit a somewhat horrified response, seemed to further reassure him that she would at least be of some use to him, if not entirely ruling out the possibility of the two of them being closer to each other.

Still, he kept a nervous hand on his Moonlight Sonata. He came to the all too sudden realization that Naminé could have followed him, regardless of his response – as is the nature of all Nobodies. He was brought to his ease by remembering that he and Naminé had a common goal in rescuing Kairi.

"Naminé?" he asked gently.

"Yes?" she replied, her green eyes gazing out into the stars.

"Tell me something." Sora was being as genuine as he could be now.

"What do you want to know?" she asked with a certain melancholy about her.

"Does Kairi… do you… either one of you… love me?" he asked with a certain amount of hesitation in his voice.

Naminé was not quick to answer. She sighed deeply.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

She looked at him for a long while. "You have every right to know."

Sora did something he never thought he'd do again. He set the Gummi ship on autopilot for a moment while he took off his coat.

Now Naminé could see his face, and she understood why he asked. Sora maintained his unruly, spiky brown hair and his easygoing, casually sparkling blue eyes, but his face had turned very pale and showed evidence of all sorts of scratches, cuts and bruises. His clothes were ragged reminders of his countless battles to restore his home island and bring his friend, Riku, back from the darkness. The areas that weren't patched up were torn apart, showing all manner of scars and other forms of torment. Once, this man was completely unharmed, but now, as it were, Sora was completely devoid of who he once was.

Naminé knew immediately what had happened to Sora. This damage was incurred while he was trying to rescue Riku, for Kairi's sake.

"Sora…" She began, but turned away when he looked at her.

Now his eyes showed a deep regret, a melancholy unlike anything she had ever seen in the boy before. It wasn't emo, per se – he understood the depth of his question – but it was something very distant. Something that she believed one day she could understand.

"I just wanted to know… that's all." His voice trailed off.

She took in a deep breath, and let it go before looking back at him. "Something inside of her changed…"

Sora looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean when you say 'changed?' Did she have anything in her heart for me to begin with?"

"Shit… now I've said too much." Naminé stared him down for a moment, before breaking down into tears.

"What… the hell is going on here?"

"All I know is that Kairi got into a big fight with the Council, alright! I had nothing to do with it!" She was evidently genuinely upset.

Sora wasn't entirely sure what to do, but he grabbed her and took her into his arms.

She stopped crying for a moment and realized what was going on.

Sora whispered into her ear. "It's okay, Naminé. Just tell me what happened. I promise, I won't get upset, no matter what."

Naminé dried her tears and stared at him for a moment. "You promise… right?"

"Of course," he reiterated, letting go of her and putting his hands on her shoulders instead. "I just want to know what happened."

"Okay." She sat back down, flustered. "To put it simply, Kairi's never been on good terms with the Council. They manipulated her since the beginning."

"That doesn't surprise me in the least," he said. "After seeing what they did with me…"

"So you know what kinds of things they do," she replied, the tone in her voice degrading. "The light side is just as conflicted as the dark one. Extortion, murder for hire, random acts of violence, and even political manipulation are all parts of their repertoire. The difference between the light and the dark is just about skin deep."

"So what does all this have to do with Kairi?" he impatiently interrupted.

"Well… Kairi was destined to be the Princess of Light. Once you get that pinned on you, there is no darkness in your heart or body. They just pair you up with a perfectly dark half and hope the two of you balance each other out." Naminé seemed troubled immediately after uttering that last bit.

Sora instantly saw what Naminé was trying to say, and let her continue.

Naminé basically reiterated everything Sora already knew about her. Kairi's relations with the Council had been strained ever since the beginning. They had originally set up shop in Radiant Garden, but after Xehanort's disastrous experimentation came to a head, Kairi was told that she was destined to become the Princess of Light – a girl tasked with making peace between the light and darkness. Kairi, being a natural delinquent around this time, challenged their decision vehemently. She had no intention of following their rules, and was quite frankly scared that she wouldn't do a good job of it. However, when the Heartless took over, Kairi had a very sudden change of heart. She decided that no matter what, she would abide by her destiny and make sure that she could change the world for the better.

"All I know is, there has to be a balance. Kairi knew that as well as Riku did. She was the Princess of Light, and he was the King of Darkness. She wanted an end to everything and she figured the best way to do that was to make it so that he fell in love with her."

Sora looked dismal. "So Kairi did love me… but that was a fate she couldn't allow."

"Yes… but that's not all." Naminé started fidgeting in her seat.

"I knew the Council was up to some bullshit. I just didn't expect it to run this deep." Sora was restraining himself from slamming his fist into the dashboard. "Naminé, if what you've just told me is true, then the Council set all this up on purpose."

"What!" she asked, startled.

"I didn't think this was as vital a part of this until you told me what you did, but… King Mickey sent Donald and Goofy out to kill Riku a while back. This was while the King was still involved with the Council."

Sora started putting pieces of the puzzle into place. He didn't know whether or not the Council of Light intended to completely annihilate the darkness, but Riku was definitely on their hit list – which meant that Sora had quite a few questions for him.

Naminé started to understand things a little clearer. "So let me get this straight. You defended Riku, stole the Gummi ship from the King…"

"Hey, 'stole' makes me sound like a bad guy!" he retorted. "No, I didn't steal it… The King assigned me with this task, and gave me the ship. He probably siphoned the gas to make sure I'd end up in Twilight Town before going all the way out to the End of the World."

Naminé stared for a brief moment. "So… you stole a ship from the King."

"No."

"Come on, admit it! You're a thief!"

Sora sighed heavily.

Naminé started giggling. "Just kidding!"

Something about the way she said this struck a nerve within him. He put the ship back on autopilot and gazed out into the stars for a bit.

"Naminé… I just wonder, is all. You know? What could be going on here? What am I getting myself into? And… where is all this gonna take me?"

Naminé looked at him for a moment. "I dunno… but I guess we'll find out, huh."

Sora closed his eyes for a moment and reclined back into his chair. Just as he opened them, his head fully tilted back as if to look at the ceiling, he was startled by the sudden image of Naminé standing over him, looking into his eyes.

"Whoa!" he shouted, completely bewildered. This suddenly struck him the wrong way.

"Sora, you lazy bum. Wake up!"

He growled deeply.

Naminé backed off.

Sora's heart sank. Naminé was part of a woman he loved – someone he went through hell and back to make sure knew this fact. And yet… Something inside of him clicked, like it had been laying dormant for a very long time. Something inside his heart began to understand everything he was fighting for.

"Naminé…" He said after calming down.

She stared at him for a moment, somewhat shocked and somewhat terrified.

"I'm sorry. I've been a total asshole."

She continued staring at him, lightening up a little bit.

"It's just… I've been so upset over Kai—

"Don't say a word." She put a finger to his mouth for a brief second, before she put her arms around him gently, put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Sora sighed, bringing his hand away from the Moonlight Sonata that, until a few minutes ago, he had a nervous grip on, and brought his hand up to meet hers.

In a way, Sora expected this. Naminé was a Nobody, but her body still carried the residual bits of Kairi's emotions, to the point that Naminé could even react in a similar way to Sora's emotions. That Kairi still permeated his memories was, in fact, a drawback to him. Some part of him longed for Naminé to erase them entirely.

Of course, this was entirely because Kairi had toyed with his emotions so much, and Sora was wrapped around her finger. Naminé at least showed a significant interest in seeing Sora, so much that her bright and cheery attitude brought her farther than any of Sora's other companions. In fact, Sora had a huge deal of heartbreak over Kairi, even now that he knew the truth.

Kairi had been there since the beginning. Nobody knew when she came, or why, but Sora fell in love with her at first sight. When Destiny Islands collapsed the first time, it was a heartbreaking battle between Sora and Riku, in order to win Kairi's heart – even though, from the very beginning, she chose Sora, there was still so much confusion between them all.

However, Sora knew that the world was still missing his other friend… Riku. The man whose convoluted wishes served not only to piss him off, but also put him through a great deal of trouble and pain. The man who left him at the gates, wondering why he couldn't go home with them and just leave all his troubles behind, served only to anger him and fuel his desire to get this mission over and done with. By this point, Sora had completely accepted Kairi's decision, to the point that he went above and beyond to reinforce it. He had saved Riku's life three times now: once when Xehanort took control of his body, again when Xemnas attacked them once more, and a third time, when he had to protect him from his own friends.

To be more precise, Sora had a brutally constant love-hate relationship with Riku. The two had been very good friends until the Heartless came for his island. After that, Riku underwent drastic changes. His personality grew dark, his once-dominant ambition became a strange hopelessness, and his love for Kairi dwindled to acquaintance levels. Yet still, Kairi loved him, and Riku was the one who was too dumb to see that on his own. The only thing keeping Sora from punching this man in the face was distance now.

Sora's own conflicted feelings would be put on hold for a while. He had Naminé. He was happy for a little while, at least. He was reminded that she felt whole when she was in his presence. That he was doing some good for someone was more than he could have hoped for, at this point.

"Naminé…"

"You feeling better now?" she asked gently.

Sora was unsure of the answer to this question himself.

"I know I can't replace her…"

He tensed up a bit at this comment, though only for a moment. "You don't need to. You're a completely different person in some ways, you know?"

She broke off the embrace as he turned to face her. "How's that?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Sora smiled. "You know exactly what to do to cheer me up."

Their precious little moment was interrupted when the ship shook violently, throwing Naminé to the floor and putting strain on the ship.

"Shit! We've got Brokens!" Sora exclaimed.

"Brokens? What the hell are those?"

"They're light mongers gone bad."

Sora had very little to make of these, but the Brokens were not easily taunted. They were the exact inverse of the Heartless: light creatures that were trying to destroy darkness – thus leaving most hearts incomplete. They generally had white bodies with red eyes, and bore similar shapes to a corresponding Heartless, with the exception of the jagged edges some of them seemed to always have. Normally they were replaced with curls or straight points.

Brokens were not easy to kill, though. Heartless were always stealing hearts, so the best way to kill them was, naturally, to detach the heart from the Heartless that was trying to steal it. Brokens were a lot tougher to kill because their weak spot was in a specific part on their body that was virtually invisible from the outside. And, as Sora figured out the hard way time and time again, if he couldn't find it, whatever body part he had just lopped off was guaranteed to come right back to its owner.

"Naminé, we've got to get out of here. I can't take them on in the Gummi ship."

She sighed for a moment. "Sora, you paranoid little boy… Let me at them."

Naminé got up from her chair, cracked her knuckles, and cast Fira at the first one she saw. While she didn't immediately kill it, she left its weak spot wide open. Sora jumped onto the control panel and quickly shot a laser from the ship's weaponry at this weak spot, and it exploded into a ball of pale blue light.

"Not bad…" he muttered.

This pattern continued for a decent bit, until a massive Broken appeared right in front of the ship. Sora tried his best to dodge it, but the ship crashed into its fist and he went flying out of the cockpit. Sora didn't miss a beat, though – he pulled his Keyblade in synchronized time with the punch.

"Ars Arcanum!" he shouted. With the combined energy of the wind shear and multiple slashes, Sora was able to take the enemy down in such a way that its fist – and his Gummi ship, with Naminé still inside – landed on solid ground in the End of the World. A quick glance revealed that, although Sora had thoroughly chopped his enemy up, he missed its weak spot.

As he landed on the ground in front of him, Sora readied his Keyblade for a second attack. The Supreme Light in front of him wasn't too happy about being thrashed so badly, and while it took some time to reform, it tried its hardest to hit Sora as many times as it could. It wasn't fast enough, though – Sora was able to run up to it, vaulting off its various appendages to its head, and chop its skull right through the center, killing it instantly.

_One small victory at a time,_ he thought quietly to himself. _But I still need answers…_

_**A/N: Fluff. Because I know I have female readers. And a small bit of action. Not a bad chapter, if I do say so myself. There is a back story to the Brokens, I swear it. I thought they would make a very interesting addition to the story, especially with the direction I plan to take it in.**_

_**Anyway, RnR if you please. I really do appreciate a little constructive criticism. Thank you!**_


	4. To Forgive Is To Suffer

_**A/N: Classes started again, so I'm gonna be on much more sparsely than before. But the long wait is further proof that I am committed to doing a good job. I don't want to half-ass something, even if I'm doing it for my own personal satisfaction. But anyway, RnR if you want, and I'll be happy to respond to any questions you have if you send me a PM.**_

_**I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or any of the characters, environments, or terms associated with it. The only things I own are the Brokens.**_

So here we are again, the same apprehension gripping our souls now as it was before…

Sora couldn't get the images out of his head from the last time he was here. The Heartless, swarming him, Donald, and Goofy from all sides, the remnants of the worlds being cast away into darkness… The pain he felt at seeing everything he had known to be lost… Just being here brought a heavy burden onto his heart. Looking out from the wreckage of his ship, even the star formations above his head triggered traumatic stress.

He couldn't believe he was coming here again, after all this time. Yet here he was, standing on what was left of a world not unlike his own. He felt the pain and suffering of millions of people bearing down on him, the panic and sorrow of their sudden losses and impending doom weighing heavily on their shoulders. People crying, screaming in horror and anguish at the sights and sounds of their world – everything they held dear – being taken from them.

Sora just wanted to destroy this place. But he knew he couldn't. Yes, it was a cluster of rocks from thousands of different worlds, all around the universe, and those worlds would not be returning anytime soon. But he clung to the hope that he was wrong. He clung to the idea that his actions could save the universe. He clung to…

"Sora…"

Naminé!

"Sora, you're squeezing too tight…"

He suddenly realized, and backed off. "Uh… Sorry."

Sora had been holding her the whole time, after she was thrown from the Gummi ship's windshield and put out of commission. She was out for almost an entire day, and Sora had begun to worry about her.

Naminé sleepily got up from the wreckage, using Sora's body as leverage. She quickly regained her cheerful disposition. "Don't worry about it! You take everything so literally."

Sora looked over at her sheepishly. "Yeah… I guess you're right." The smile returned to his face as well.

Yes, he did cling to Naminé, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. Sure, she was a Nobody, but she was his best friend. He reminded himself of why she was, but remembered that he didn't really care, one way or the other. At least, for now, he could keep these questions at bay. Regardless of her motive, he could figure everything out later. That is, if she even had a motive.

Naminé was his friend now. No more Donald and Goofy turning their backs on him. No more betrayals from Riku. No more secret meetings with the Council of Light interfering with his friendship with Kairi.

Sora never thought too highly of the Council. From the time he discovered their existence, immediately after Destiny Islands' second collapse, he thought they were a little too conceited for their own good. After all, they were mostly human – where it counted, at least, they looked no different. But something about them always grabbed Sora's attention and rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was the way they conducted business. Maybe it was their relationship with Kairi. Sora knew that he didn't like them, for one reason or another.

"Come on, Naminé. We've gotta get going…"

Sora could sense other people in his presence. No, not people – creatures. He could sense the pain and hardship some of them had to endure. He could feel the unrequited dreams of the Brokens, the Nobodies, the Heartless, swimming all around him. His body felt heavy. His head hurt. His ears were ringing. His fingers were tingling. His stomach was growling.

He had time to think about food, but not about what lies ahead? What kind of moron am I, he thought for a moment. He slapped himself once or twice until the pain in his face was easier to concentrate on than the pain he felt in his stomach.

Or the pain he'd soon feel in his heart.

Another cloaked figure stood before the gigantic hole. Out from this hole appeared literally billions of Brokens. Sora struggled to comprehend how many there were, but he knew there were way too many for him to fight off on his own. Heartless were one thing, but Brokens were cold and calculated, with almost human intelligence.

Luckily, they weren't looking his way. Rather, they were just flooding out and attacking the black sky. It looked like wherever they came from, a massive swarm of Heartless had caught on and wanted to fight them back to their graves.

"Well, that's good, at least," Sora said. "They're preoccupied."

Naminé looked up at them. "Sora… Isn't it sad?"

Sora stopped for a moment. "Hmm?"

Naminé shifted anxiously. "The Broken… They've been fooled into thinking darkness is the enemy, and have thus vowed to destroy it. Yet they can never be complete as a result…"

Sora considered this thought for a moment. "I guess you're right. To be honest, I didn't think of that until you brought it up. But there is every possibility that this is the unfortunate truth."

Sora now knew that the Brokens were just as distraught as the Heartless were. Unwilling to believe that darkness and light are supposed to be a unified force, the Broken and the Heartless were no different, having expelled the other element believing that there is no place for it in its existence. But Brokens were then fooled even again by the Council of Light, into believing that the darkness is the reason they are incomplete. Pure of light, the Brokens charge headlong into the maelstrom with the intention of destroying their other half, without ever knowing that their other half is one among their supposed "enemy" before them.

To this effect, it would make sense that they would be after Sora. They needed all the strength they could get, and a Keybearer would make their lives much easier. But he was more concentrated on the fact that Naminé was no different, by this regard. Kairi was a Princess of Light, and that meant that Naminé was purely light. Neither Nobody nor Broken, she was an entity that existed on pure will alone. Either she was waiting for something, or something was waiting for her.

From the darkness, Sora could barely make out a man dropping down to the ground in front of the black hole. Sora recognized his cloak right away, but it took him turning around to face his Heartless brethren to discover the wicked truth.

"Riku…!"

Sora charged toward him, destroying every obstacle in his way. Naminé struggled to keep up with Sora's angry pace. Riku was here, and that meant the comparably little conflict in the skies was about to become a full-blown hurricane.

Sora had a lot of questions for this man. But he could throw those all out the window if it meant being able to throttle him. Riku had betrayed everyone, in some way or another. He wrecked Sora's friendship with Donald and Goofy. The least Sora could do was smack him around a little bit. He knew he didn't want to kill him, but he had no idea what he was capable of.

He took a few deep breaths, gasping for air as he finally got to the base of the hole, where Riku was. The Brokens that were flooding out behind him were not their usual shiny selves – rather, they were dull, pale gray, almost as if the light that they contained was starting to die off.

Standing beside Riku was another hooded figure. Laying beside Riku was Kairi's body. Naminé saw this and kept her distance, ducking behind a large floating boulder. For Kairi to be in this dangerous a situation, Naminé would be in even bigger trouble if Riku were to see her.

Sora kept a nervous hand on the sheath of his Keyblade. He kept another nervous hand at the ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

And then, Riku opened his eyes. And everything Sora was about to ask went right out the window.

"Welcome, Prince of Darkness," Xehanort shouted at him.

"I should have known…"

"What should you have known?" Xehanort spat with a chuckle. "You've grown too careful, it would seem. Or, perhaps, too careless…"

Xehanort. The man behind the switchboard for every single little incident Sora had been required to fight through was none other than this man standing before him.

Sora drew his Keyblade and charged forward, but he was instantly repelled back by an invisible force, almost like a wall.

"Imbecile. You have no place here. You know nothing, if not anger."

Sora regained his composure and sheathed his sword. "So tell me what it is I don't know."

"The Rule of Chaos! It's all around you. And you, my dear Prince, are a perfect example." Xehanort walked toward Sora, his smile growing cold and lifeless in the reflection of what once was Sora's best friend.

Sora had heard the term before. The Rule of Chaos. It stated that darkness was responsible for controlling conscious action, a normal facet to the human persona. This was why three Princes of Darkness were born at a time, and two were supposed to die before the third could take up the role of King. Usually, power corrupted these people to the point of each Prince killing each other, and this is why the King of Darkness has traditionally been associated with the Heartless, evil, and overall misguided attempts at creating balance – which, unfortunately, in this case, led to a war.

"I didn't have any intention of killing him. He would have made an excellent King."

Xehanort started laughing maniacally. "But you see, Sora… That decision was a bad one."

Xehanort turned, and walked toward the lifeless body on the floor. Sora watched in horror as he kicked Kairi off the ledge and into the hole.

"The deed is done. Xion, if you would."

The other hooded figure next to him jumped up and grabbed Kairi's heart as it ascended from the bottom of the hole.

Sora was thrust into an uncontrollable rage. He pulled his Moonlight Sonata and shattered the wall that Xehanort had put up in an attempt to hold him back, and slashed Xehanort repeatedly until he neared the edge.

"You will never again know true happiness. And whose fault is it? None but your own."

Sora was in no mood to hear this. He plunged the Moonlight Sonata right through Xehanort's chest, only to watch the illusion he created disappear before his eyes.

"You truly are a fool if you think you can kill me now," Sora overheard Xehanort shout at him.

And all too quickly, as if a bolt of lightning struck him, Xehanort winced in pain, falling to his knees and clutching his chest. Sora knew at this point that he hadn't wounded him, but somehow he wished that the pain he witnessed now was a by-product of trying.

"No… You MONSTER!" he shouted, sputtering uncontrollably. "But I did what they wanted!" He struggled to get another sentence out. "But how could you do something like that?"

"…What are you saying?" Sora asked.

"They wanted this… I wanted to give them what they wanted… But at least now the Council can't track… It still doesn't excuse your actions!"

Sora discovered a harsh truth, studying Xehanort's eyes as they shifted from demonized, bloodstained red back to solemn indigo, overhearing his borderline schizophrenic conversation, and in the mannerisms he started to express from his pain. Riku was still trapped inside him, and that meant Sora couldn't touch Xehanort's physical body with his Keyblade if he had any hope of saving his friend.

He felt a very deep pain in his heart. Something terrible had happened to Riku, and there was suddenly nothing he could do about it. There was suddenly not only Xehanort, but Riku, trying to take back control. Moreover, Sora had a big decision to make, and now it involved killing his best friend. But could he ever forgive himself if he were to do this? So many questions left unanswered, and never would he understand. So many people left hurt, killed, broken, heartless, shattered beyond emotion. Sora came to the all too painful realization that his best friend was staring at his own private hell.

Yet Sora couldn't bring himself to kill Riku, even in this state. He wanted to see his best friend again, as he was before. He wanted to prove Donald and Goofy wrong. He wanted to see his hard work and effort pay off. Even this… thing that Riku had inside him wasn't going to stop him from trying his damned hardest to save him.

"Riku… I know you're in there…"

"Sora! Get away! Bring Naminé with you!"

"But—

"GO!"

Sora had no choice. This was what Riku wanted.

"And tell the King he was right… I'm sorry for all of this…"

Sora saw the last bits of humanity in his best friend laid out in front of him. He had to leave.

"Okay…" Sora replied, mustering up the courage to do what his best friend said.

Confusion filled his mind and heart. Riku, who was once his best friend, was responsible for many of the hardships that Sora had to endure. Yet he could not bring himself to kill him, even now.

He took a step toward the black hole, holding a hesitant foot away from the ground.

"Sora! Don't!"

He looked back at his friend. "But going back in time is the only way to save her!"

"No, Sora… You don't understand…"

He shifted back to Xehanort.

"And you NEVER will."

Sora couldn't focus on the words. He had an iron will, if nothing else. He had to go back for her. Even if it meant they would never fall in love… Even if the end result was no different… He had to go back for her. The tears would never fade, if he didn't at least try.

"Sora!" Naminé shouted at him. "I think I understand! That pit won't bring you back anymore! It'll kill you if you get too close!"

Hearing a voice so similar to Kairi's was unsettling, but it caused his heart to respond more than his brain.

"Does it really matter anymore… Naminé?"

She ran over to him and slapped his cheek, the anger permeating in her face as she struggled to hold back her own tears. "Yes, it fucking matters."

As if his cheek wasn't sore enough already.

He dragged himself away, back to where Xehanort was keeled over. He kicked him in the stomach as hard as he could, and walked back toward the Gummi ship.

Sora was beyond shattered. This was all happening way too quickly. The only thing he could focus on now was what he could do next. He couldn't kill Xehanort because he couldn't bring himself to kill Riku, yet he couldn't save Kairi…

He needed a new direction. And as this thought crossed his mind desperately, the only thing he could see as he looked up was Xion, fleeing the scene and heading towards Mickey's Castle.

"Sora… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have slapped you before," Naminé said finally. "It's just… You wouldn't really abandon me like that… right?"

Sora sighed. "It gave me some perspective… looking down there. You're… all I have left. But even you don't know..."

"Huh?"

"Xion. We're going after Xion," he said. He snapped out of it before he said what he was actually thinking.

Naminé stared at him, a confused expression permeating her face. "Any particular reason?"

"She's got something in her hands, and it doesn't belong to her."

…_And I would do the same for you, _he almost blurted out.

_**A/N: RnR please?**_

_**This chapter did take me a while to write. It's not because I lost interest, though – believe me, this is the best fanfic I've written so far, and it's the only one I've wanted to post. The thing is, I wanted it to be solely something of my own device. No offense to anyone else who's written a KH fic, but I wanted this to be a more unique experience. **_

_**I also wanted to mention, because I got an email about this, that Sora is a character whose emotions set him apart from most of the other characters Square has made so far, and I'm looking to add an extra layer to these with the way in which he conducts himself as a result. So if he appears a little weird, it's part of what I'm trying to do. It fits with the rest of the fanfic better.  
**_


	5. Dead Eyes See No Future

_**A/N: I just discovered that my workload is downsizing and I may have more time to finish writing yet. I like the ability to take artistic license with a product, and I hope you agree that what I'm currently working on is something artistic licenses like this were created for. Warning: This is the longest chapter I've written, so you might want to not sit down to read it until you've got a decent bit of time on your hands. It's definitely not one that you can skim through.**_

_**Kingdom Hearts and all associated characters are the property of Square Enix and Disney. This work is based entirely on fan theories, is neither slanderous nor libelous in nature, and is made purely for appreciation purposes. **_

_**P.S. Walt, I do not read or write hentai/porno/erotica or anything like that based on your characters. You can stop turning in your grave now.**_

There's no need to feel so nervous, Sora.

He could keep telling himself that, but he knew it wasn't true, not by a long shot. Xion was dangerous – she was, after all, a part of him, and there was no denying that. But how dangerous could she be?

Naminé's face seemed to tell millions of tales. When Sora announced he would be following Xion, she wasn't happy. As a former resident of his heart herself, Naminé knew what he was capable of making. She had direct confrontations with Xion when it came time for Roxas to be thrown into the simulation of Twilight Town that he would later destroy in a blind rage. Moreover, Xion was a skeletal wreck of a woman. She had no heart, and therefore no emotion, but neither did she have any cause for many of her actions. She did as she was told, to perfection, but she also went out of her way to do things she wanted, even if she had no idea what those things were. She was simultaneously the most fun-loving, bubbly girl in the universe, and the most destructive harlequin ever created.

For Sora, Xion was Kairi's Heartless, essentially. While she was actually a Nobody, she was his own mistake, a repulsive creation from his own heart, at a time when he was so desperate to have Kairi back that he would sacrifice his own life to make sure of it. Xion was, in every essence, Sora's evidence of weakness. She was something to be destroyed from the very beginning. Of course, Sora had no qualms about chasing her down and killing her for her most recent actions. But it was never that simple. Xion had once been on his side. She, as part of him, knew everything about him from the inside out. Even if she couldn't recall his memories, she had his personality, and therefore his tactical prowess.

Moreover, she was a dirty reminder of one major thing Sora struggled to cope with.

"Naminé," he finally said, after another long silence in the Gummi ship's cockpit. "I'm sorry."

She looked at him for a moment, and then turned her head away. "It's okay. I think I know how you feel, somehow… I can't say I wouldn't have done the same."

Sora wasn't sure how to feel about this. He needed some clarity.

"Naminé, I know what I did was wrong."

"You're fixing it now. Why does it bug you so much?"

Sora sighed deeply. His sadness couldn't be contained, even now that there was plenty of time for him to recover.

Naminé hugged him from behind, placing her head on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

Sora was finally at ease with Naminé. It seemed like it would take years at first, but somehow he genuinely felt at ease around her. She was, after all, a good friend and a beautiful woman, even if she did bear likenesses to Kairi.

Something bothered him still, though. He stood in front of Riku. He attacked his enemy head-on. Yet he couldn't finish him. This was something that genuinely bothered Sora.

"Naminé… If you were in my shoes, what would you have done to Riku?"

This question caught her off guard entirely. "I… don't know…"

Sora eased up. His sadness was still apparent in his face, but he wasn't frowning anymore, at least. Hearing Naminé, the closest thing to the voice of reason he had up until now, say these particular words, allowed him to understand one thing that, until now, he was entirely unsure of. What happened with Riku, regardless of the details, was something nobody would have known what to do about.

"I'm actually glad you said that," he replied. "It's sort of reassuring. I wasn't sure whether or not I'd lost my mind, or let my anger get to me. It's hard sometimes, dealing with such extreme events."

Naminé seemed to understand this part a lot better than Sora thought. She hugged him tighter, almost as if in sympathy.

"There's something important you need to know. About Xion…" Naminé's voice cracked a bit.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"When Kairi died, her heart wasn't intact. The title wasn't in it anymore."

"Title?"

"Yes. It's something of a misnomer, really. You're aware of how people can't function without both light and darkness, right?"

"I think so."

"Well, the 'title,' as it is called, is a section of a heart only given to Princesses of Light and Princes of Darkness. It allows the heart to function without the other element."

"How do you know this?"

"I overheard the Council talking about it… They said that if there was a way to get both the Crest of Chaos and the Crest of Conspiracy into one heart, that one person could rule both light and darkness."

Sora heard a little bit about the Rule of Conspiracy. Basically, light was responsible for thought, so when a Princess of Light is born, she is usually wise. The Council of Light liked to manipulate these Princesses, however. Some of their suggestions were generally good, but some were not.

Sora recalled that shortly before Kairi went missing, the Council searched for her rampantly, as though they were after something of hers. It was possible they were after this title because she didn't want to follow their orders.

"So… Xion didn't steal a complete heart?" Sora asked, thinking this over.

"Correct. If she did, she wouldn't have been able to touch it. Something so highly concentrated as a title would either burn her hands, or consume her entirely. It's likely that she's trying to use that heart to become whole again. She's probably going to Mickey to ask for his help. That's my best guess as to why she's not going to Kingdom Hearts with it."

"But she's not going to get it. Why would she go there?"

"Beats me. What I'm personally more worried about is, what's going to happen now that the Crest is missing?"

"At least it's out of Xehanort's hands," Sora reassured her. "I have a feeling that's why he killed her. But if that be the case, as it may, then why did Xion still need that heart?"

"Maybe Xehanort already had the Crest and was just trying to push Riku's buttons?"

"No… Maybe there's a whole other motive altogether." Sora found himself confused. "What do I do, Naminé?"

She kissed him softly on the cheek. "Just relax."

If anything, that would not make Sora relax. On the contrary, it might actually make Sora sort of uneasy. However, he simply smiled at her, attempting to reassure her that he would be alright.

"Thanks, Naminé."

Sora's smiling would soon be over. As soon as he got to Mickey's Castle, he could see the disarray and melancholy hanging in the air. He hopped out of the ship and immediately drew his blade, while Naminé prepared herself for battle as well.

The place had been trashed when he got there. Columns were destroyed. The Gummi Ship hangar looked like a factory after an explosion. The castle had smoke billowing out of it. The skies were totally gray, and the entire place reeked of destruction.

Donald apprehended Sora at the gates. "What's going on here?" he yelled. "Didn't the King tell you not to come back?"

"Where is he? Where did Xion go?" Sora asked, desperately. "He's in grave danger. Did she already do all of this?"

"She already left," Donald replied. "The King is dead."

Sora dropped to his knees. "No…"

"We're too late?" Naminé asked, hoping she was wrong.

Sora slammed his fist into the wall. "Dammit!"

"Sora!" Goofy shouted from behind Donald. "Are you okay? Did she get to you, too?"

Sora couldn't respond. Anger flooded his senses, and his fingers went numb.

"You did mean to help us after all, huh…" Donald said sadly, lowering his guard.

"I never intended not to." He stabbed the Keyblade into the ground and used it as leverage to rise back up to his feet. "I trailed her all the way from the End of the World. Wait… You thought I was here to assault the King?"

Minnie came into the room. "Donald, stand down! Sora is a well-trusted friend and ally! We can't afford to burn bridges in this time of peril."

Donald turned to face her, a shocked expression permeating his face.

"Donald, Queen Minnie's right," Goofy added. "Sora would never hurt us. I'll bet he's just as confused as you are."

Donald finally lowered his guard. "Xion went to the World that Never Was. She came through here in a destructive rampage, said her piece, and left."

Sora seemed too frustrated to be sad. "I guess that's our next stop."

Minnie stopped him as he approached the Gummi ship. "Sora, wait."

He turned to face her. She wore a very worried look on her face.

"Please, take them with you, if it's not too much to ask."

Sora stared at them for a few moments. Things had not been good between them the last time he was here. On the contrary, things were getting pretty bad between them. Donald and Goofy had once accompanied him through all of these worlds, as his friends, but when they tried to assassinate Riku, things got out of hand very quickly between Sora and his former allies. Since then, Sora had not seen or spoken to either of them. It had been almost an entire year since this incident.

He stared at Donald for a second, then at Goofy. Both of them were overcome with sadness, seeing their best friend again, and seeing the overwhelming pain they had caused him once as it reflected in his now watering eyes.

Sora proceeded to walk up to Donald, and then put his hands on his shoulders. "I forgive you."

Donald nodded, and then turned to Goofy. They looked at each other for a moment, and nodded to each other.

Sora then turned to Goofy, and nodded to him as well. "I hope you both understand what I'm about to do."

"What're ya talkin' about, pal?"

Sora turned to Minnie. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, Donald and Goofy would serve my cause best if they were to remain here, and stand guard for you."

Minnie held a stern expression on her face. "Sora! Don't you dare go out there alone!"

"It's okay, Queen Minnie. I'll be with him." Naminé spoke up for Sora.

"Your Majesty, I can personally speak for the courage and wisdom these two have. I can see no more fitting candidates to be your knights. If they were to come with me, there is no guarantee of your safety, or of anyone else's here. That would put me at a disadvantage when fighting Xehanort."

She sighed, a worried expression permeating her face. "Sora… Just be careful."

Sora turned to Donald and Goofy. "You know what to do."

They both nodded. This was the best they could ask for, considering the circumstances.

"I'm going after Xion. When I get back, I want an audience with you directly, if that's not too much to ask."

Queen Minnie nodded, a little bit of the worry leaving her face. "Just make sure you're still alive."

"You can rely on me," Naminé said. "I'll take care of him."

She rather casually walked up to his side and hugged his arm. Sora was again taken aback by Naminé's sudden affection for him, but he knew the more appropriate thing to do now was to reassure the Queen that he would be alright.

"Well, then… I'll let you be on your way," Queen Minnie said with a slight nod and curtsey.

"And… I'm sorry about King Mickey," Sora added. "I will properly mourn for him later on."

"We… will all be waiting for your safe return," she replied.

Sora walked back to the Gummi ship, and hopped into the driver's seat, waving them all off.

"The World that Never Was… why would you go there?" Sora pondered, though he was still unable to think about anything except decapitating this bitch. He pushed the throttle up a little bit faster than he would normally go.

"I know what she's up to," Naminé said almost haphazardly as Sora fired up the engine.

"What do you think is going on?"

"Kairi's heart was incomplete. It's useless to her. She probably went back to the World that Never Was to gain access to Kingdom Hearts so she can either get a new one, or repair the damage on that one."

"Wait… What do you mean when you say damage?"

"Nevermind…" Naminé trailed off.

Sora wanted to ask more, but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know. There were some things he was definitely more comfortable without knowing. Naminé wouldn't keep secrets from him unless they directly affected the truth about his quest – or, at least, unless they were necessary. Even if she did keep secrets from him, he thought to himself grimly, it wasn't going to matter anyway, since she could manipulate his memories.

No. He couldn't even begin to allow himself to think like that. Naminé was his friend. She volunteered to come with him, knowing full well what the trip could entail. She wouldn't manipulate his memories, not unless he asked her to. Why did he even begin to think like this? Especially at a time like this, the last thing he could afford to lose was her trust.

"Sora…" Naminé said, rather suddenly.

He looked at her over his shoulder, and held a questioning look on his face.

"What if…" She paused for a second. "What if she doesn't come back? If all of this wasn't going to do anything for her, I mean… What would you do?"

Sora was frank. "It doesn't matter."

"Do you truly believe that…?" Naminé knew this was unlike Sora.

"I don't know what to believe, Naminé!" Sora shot back. "I've been on a wild fucking goose chase for the past three and a half years. I don't know if the so-called friends I'm fighting for give half a shit about it. Fuck, the one I stuck my neck out for the most is on a murderous rampage now. I don't know what to believe. I don't even know who I am. Am I the good guy? The one who fights off evil, is that me? Then why is it that EVERY step I have taken in the right direction has fucked me over even more! Regardless of whether or not she comes back, will I ever truly succeed in doing what I have tried to do? What if she hates me for it? What if she preferred Riku because I knew I couldn't come back? What then, Naminé?" He slammed his fist down on the dashboard.

She sat down, unable to respond.

"I tried my damned hardest to do right by her. Even if I wanted her for myself, I did what I believed would make her happy. But I'm the one who got her killed. She's never going to smile again… Never going to cry again… Never going to laugh, or love… Everything is my fault. And even if I manage to fix things for the rest of the world, I will have to live with this guilt for the rest of my life." Sora wiped his tears off the dashboard. "My selfish actions killed the one person I loved the most. If I can't even do this one simple thing… how will I ever truly believe anything ever again?"

"Sora…" Naminé swallowed hard, her own eyes watering. "She wouldn't want this for you."

"Naminé…" Sora stood up, wiping as many of the tears as he could from his face. "You can control memories, right? Take her away from me. I don't even deserve to know who she was."

Naminé got up and slapped him. "Sora!"

Now his eyes were watering for a whole other reason. That really hurt.

"She wouldn't want this for you! And neither do I."

Sora shot a questioning glare at her. "Huh? What's this, all of a sudden?"

Naminé threw her arms around Sora and held on to him tightly. "I don't have anything else to hold on to either…You make me feel whole. You're everything I could ever ask for… How do you think I feel? I have to sit here and watch you become more and more miserable over other peoples' mistakes, knowing everything I know about you. Knowing who you really are… what you're capable of feeling… and never being able to heal you… having to watch you suffer, because I love you too much to leave you alone… yet constantly feeling so far away from you, almost as if you were a long-lost love in a faded memory…"

Suddenly, he couldn't push her away. Naminé had just said she loved him. He wasn't sure what to think, or feel. Anger and sadness were suddenly nonexistent to him. His stomach suddenly felt light. His chest felt warm. His fingers suddenly found themselves working their way up to her face, brushing her hair away from her forehead.

"Just… let me hold you for a little while. Let me at least feel like I'm helping." Her voice was muffled, as she had buried her face in Sora's shoulder. "I know I don't technically have a heart… but I swear, it really does make a difference to me, even if it doesn't make sense."

Sora sighed deeply, his troubles escaping him for a few moments. There was suddenly was no difference between Kairi and Naminé. He understood one very important fact now.

_Kairi really did love me…_

_**A/N: You know, it kinda frustrates the hell out of me when I can write a better fanfiction than actual work. I've got a story I've been working on that is completely unrelated to this fanfic, and I've been writing it for the past 7 years, and not once did any of the chapters come out anything like this. **_

_**Anyway, RnR if you wish. I'm really glad some of you guys like what I'm writing. I promise, the more confusing stuff is temporary, and it won't dominate the rest of the story, even though a lot of it is really important to understand where the idea came from. The wait time for the next chapter might be a little while, but I promise it will be awesome.**_


	6. Revival of the Marionette

_**A/N: Sorry, I actually finished writing this chapter about two weeks ago. The Type-2 error with the story editing prevented me from posting it. But I took a little bit of that time to edit it some. I like the way it came out.  
**_

_**Kingdom Hearts and all associated characters are not my property. I'm not slandering anyone, I'm just offering my take. Scram, lawsuit pansies.**_

There's nothing to fear... Keep telling yourself that.

Sora was not in the right state of mind right now. Naminé had just said something he wasn't too sure he was comfortable with. As a matter of fact, though, he wasn't even sure what the concept meant. "Love," by his definition, was something so beyond foreign to him that he wasn't sure he knew what it was. Kairi was, in fact, the closest thing he had to "love," in his honest opinion.

Why should Naminé, then, be so different? He couldn't get that lingering thought out of his head. Something about this whole mess was true: he did understand what Naminé was going through somehow. But he had bigger fish to fry, and he wasn't sure that allowing himself to get this close to Naminé would allow him to do it right. Xion, after all, was not exactly on the far end of the spectrum from either Naminé or Kairi. He had already bore witness to Kairi's death, and that wasn't an isolated incident. Sora was a man with undeniable trauma in his unfortunate past. If he was falling for Naminé, he knew it would have to wait until after Xion was defeated and the mental scarring left behind by yet another incarnation of Kairi dying by his hand had faded somewhat.

More troublesome than even that, though, was his inevitable decision to leave Donald and Goofy behind. He had originally secretly intended to come back for them, but he wasn't sure that was a good idea anymore. Donald had changed. He was desensitized by Sora's apparent betrayal, but he was even more grief-stricken by the idea that he betrayed Sora. Goofy seemed to be doing a decent job keeping him in line, but he was also torn apart by the idea from the very beginning. It was apparent that, while Goofy was ready and able to make amends, Donald was too busy beating himself up. If Sora were to take Goofy with him, he'd be leaving Queen Minnie with a demoralized wizard, one whose ability to protect the Castle would have been significantly diminished and definitely not enough to withstand any members of either the Council of Light or Xehanort's group. Worse yet, if he were to take Donald with him, he wouldn't have been of any use to either of them, likely getting himself into even bigger trouble on the road. And there was no way in hell he would ever think of taking both, especially considering all of the damage that had been done in the three seconds he turned his back to accomplish any of his other goals. Even if they weren't enough to fully protect the Castle, they would have to be enough to at least fend off any attackers until Sora could clean up.

Or perhaps Sora was being selfish. He did, on some level, want to be alone with Naminé. If she was right – if she did truly love him – then he wanted to be by her side, no matter what. Sora wasn't sure what love was, either, but he knew that this wasn't something Naminé would joke about.

"We're gonna be there in a few minutes," Sora said to Naminé, shaking her a little bit. "You might want to get up now."

After Sora's emotional outburst, both he and Naminé were tired. Sora, being the gentleman that he is, allowed her to sleep, even offering his coat as a blanket.

"...huh... Whoa! Look at that! Did it always look like this...?"

Naminé and Sora both appeared to be somewhat shocked by this rendition of the World that Never Was. On his last visit here, Sora saw nothing but dark, dreary hues of blue and black set over a concrete jungle, complete with disgruntled citizens and anything else that might attack him without batting an eye or any other form of a moment's notice. The city now looked like a Mardi Gras festival met with a wedding; bright lights and white overtones on all the buildings, as if the entire place was engulfed in a festival.

Sora landed the ship and pulled his Keyblade out, cautiously looking around him for anything that might jump out at him and attack either him or Naminé.

"Hey, Sora!" a very loud, obnoxious voice shouted at him.

Sora narrowly avoided slashing at his friend Yuffie as he finally let down his guard for five seconds to sheathe his sword. She ran toward him at top speed, waving at him even after getting within three feet of his face, almost as if she had never heard of the term "courtesy" before.

"Hey, Yuffie," he replied, his voice noticeably less enthusiastic than hers.

"What the hell are you doing here? Goin' off and not contacting any of us for a whole year... You got a whole lot of nerve showing up now, when we were just throwing a good-riddance party!" she joked.

Sora looked around nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Just kidding!" Yuffie said with a chuckle. She lightly punched Sora in the shoulder. "But seriously. What are you doing here, of all places? You do know, You-Know-Who really isn't gonna be happy to see you."

Sora now held a questioning look on his face. "You-Know-Who?"

"Spiky! He's held a grudge ever since you beat him in that tournament thingy. Hey, fancy sword, speaking of which! Where'd you get that? And... WHO'S THAT!"

Yuffie pointed at Naminé, an anxious smile permeating her face.

"Yuffie... First off, calm down. Second, the sword's not new. It's just doing something I never knew it could before. Finally, this is Naminé. She's been accompanying me recently." Sora sighed, exasperated.

Yuffie's expression suddenly changed. Her smile turned into a nervous frown. "Is this... the same Naminé you told us about?"

Sora held a stern expression. "Yes."

Sora had told Yuffie and the rest of her crew about Kairi and her Nobody in the past. Yuffie took a second to put two and two together, but she eventually understood what this meant for Sora.

"Oh my god, Sora... I'm so sorry..."

Sora looked up at the central castle. "I'm hunting down Xion. She killed King Mickey and she took Kairi's heart from her dead body. That's all I came here for. I'll leave you guys in peace when that's done."

Yuffie's expression turned sour. "That's really all you came here for? Jerk."

"Hey. I didn't know you guys were here, anyway. What happened to Radiant Garden?" Sora asked.

"The Council of Light took it back, so we're nomads again." Yuffie glared in the direction of that star. "Sora... Something's not right with them. Can I ask you for a favor?"

"You want me to check up on them too." Sora glared at the star himself. "Don't worry, I already had that in mind. Too many things aren't making enough sense. It just doesn't add up. Why didn't they protect Kairi? They should have been able to track her. She was, after all, a Princess."

Naminé interrupted. "Sora, don't forget... We don't know that anymore. The Crest of Conspiracy was missing by the time Kairi actually died."

Yuffie gasped. "Wait... How long have you been around?"

"Since before Sora found her... and Xehanort."

Yuffie looked as if she was about to ask more questions, but Sora flagged her down.

"We'll just go up, kill it, and come back down."

Yuffie was suddenly startled by Sora's lack of emotion towards Xion. "Even if she's Kairi's Heartless... she's still a part of Kairi. Doesn't that bother you, in the least?"

Sora stopped. "Wait... what did you say?"

Leon stepped out from behind another building. "Yeah. She's Kairi's Heartless, alright."

"How-

"Let's just say Kairi hasn't been Princess for a while," he remarked. "For a while, as in, 'we think she may not have been the Princess at all.' But we're not sure of what exactly happened, and the way you present the situation, we don't know what to make of it."

Sora stared at him for a moment. "You think she's never been the Princess?"

"Either that, or she wasn't pure, starting with the very second she got into your body."

Sora pulled out the thalassa shell charm that Kairi gave him. "It doesn't matter now. I made an oath. I intend to keep it."

"I'm surprised that's not on your Keyblade," Leon said. He had a habit of saying things with the specific intent of pissing people off, but this time he actually seemed genuinely concerned. "Did something happen?"

Sora pulled out his Keyblade again. "No, I just prefer to use this one. It feels more natural." The blade truly was light as a feather. Sora briefly showed off some sword acrobatics with it before showing Leon what exactly it looked like.

"Shiny much. You plan on keeping a low profile with that thing?"

"No. They know I'm coming. At this point, I'm kinda hoping that's a good enough scare tactic."

Sora nodded in Leon's direction, then in Yuffie's.

"You want any backup?" Yuffie asked, readying her blades.

"No, thanks," he replied. "If you want in on the next kill, sure. But Xion's mine. This is revenge."

Sora stepped past them both, holding Naminé by the hand as he walked toward the castle.

"He's grown up," Leon said, exchanging a quick glance with Yuffie.

"Well, we all have, you know. Time didn't stop," she replied.

Leon put a hand around the handle of his Gunblade. "It did, at one point... I just sometimes find myself losing touch of where it picked back up."

"He's actually kinda handsome... She's lucky." Yuffie looked over at Leon. "Unlike a certain spiky-headed blonde with a bad attitude we both know..."

Sora kicked down the door to the castle. Nobodies swarmed him, but he was more than ready to deal with every single one that came his way.

"Ragnarok!" he shouted, unleashing an aerial flurry of swings before finally launching a series of explosive beams of light at his enemies. He managed to kill all but three of the Nobodies in the room.

"Careful, Terra! They're Organization XIII members!" he thought he could hear Naminé shout to him.

"Organization XIII? No... I killed them all."

"Remember who they are, Terra!"

"Wait... Who's Terra?" Sora muttered to himself for a moment. "Xion! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I safeguarded it. The Council of Light was after it."

Sora sliced through the three anonymous Organization members with ease, then proceeded to chase Xion through the building.

"Ter... wait... You're not Terra! You have no right to this heart, you dirty Council sympathizer! Get away from me!"

Sora dashed in front of her and blindsided her with a leg sweep, then caught her and shook her violently. "Get a grip, dammit! What happened to the Council, Xion? Tell me!"

Xion stared Sora point-blank in the face now. She couldn't get away, no matter how hard she tried.

Naminé grabbed the heart from Xion's hands. "Sora... This heart... It's not Kairi's. It's got a receptacle for the Crest of Conspiracy in it, but it's complete other than that... Who is she guarding?"

Xion glared at Naminé. "You..."

Sora punched Xion in the face. "You dare touch her, and I swear I will send you to whatever God you wish. Answer my fucking question and leave Naminé out of this."

Xion held a puzzled look on her face. "You've... been protecting her all this time? She's the one I've been protecting... But why are we on the same side, then?"

Something about Xion's comment made Sora uncomfortable. He let her go and propped her back up. "What are you talking about, Xion? I never took any sides... I'm just trying to make sense of all this."

Xion looked around the room a little bit more. "Are you... are you sure they're not watching us?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Sora reassured her. "Now, will you tell me what's going on?"

"No. You'll have to earn that right."

Xion charged at Sora, her Keyblade in hand. Sora took the defensive for a moment, though not before a Supreme Light appeared between herself and Sora, just in time to punch her into a wall.

"Strike Raid!" Sora shouted, simultaneously unsheathing his Keyblade and throwing it at the Broken's other arm as it went in for a second strike at Xion, cutting it off before it had a chance and redirecting its attention toward Sora.

"...Sora? What the hell are you doing? I don't need your sympathy, you asshole!" Xion stumbled back to her feet, jumped up, and came down on the Broken's other arm, chopping it off as well. "See? Now it's defenseless. I didn't need your help."

"Xion, don't underestimate these things... They're not like the Heartless."

She ignored his warning and continued chopping it up until its left arm regenerated, caught her, and threw her against the wall again. Her Keyblade went flying into the air.

"Shit... Naminé, be careful."

Sora caught the Keyblade in midair and dodged around the Broken until he found Xion in the crater, pressed against the wall with enough force to break a few bones.

Nevertheless, when Sora grabbed her arm, she slapped his hand away and jumped out of the crater herself. "I refuse to work with you," she said, staring him down.

Sora held his Keyblade in her way. "You don't have a choice anymore."

As he said that, he caught Xion's Keyblade in his other hand.

Xion tried to break free, but she was severely injured.

"Care to join me now?" he asked, extending his arm, with her Keyblade in hand, back to her reach.

"Dammit... You win." Xion took it from him, then placed her forearm in his hand. "Help me out, will you."

"Naminé, Cure her."

"Got it," she replied. "Heal!"

Xion was surrounded in a green light adorned with falling leaves and golden bells for a moment, while Sora took the initiative and helped her out of the crater.

"Gimme a boost."

Xion lowered her hands and locked them together, allowing Sora to step up and use them as a platform. She then threw him up into the air, allowing him to backflip over the creature's head and drag the Keyblade down the length of his spine.

The Broken keeled over, allowing Xion to jump onto its back and start mauling it. As soon as it started regenerating, Sora jumped back onto its back, and stabbed it in the glowing purple weak spot in its right half.

Xion lost her balance for a moment, the Broken dying and deteriorating underneath her feet. Sora caught her and jumped off its back, stabbing into the wall with his Keyblade and dragging it down to the floor below.

"It's dead. Now, work with me here, Xion. I need to know what happened to Kairi's heart, especially now that there's a Crest of Conspiracy out there somewhere, missing its heart and in serious danger of being jacked by an asshole named Xehanort."

Xion looked puzzled for a moment. "Xehanort? As in, the current King of Darkness Xehanort? He's the one after the Crest?"

"I don't know who the hell he is. But what did you mean when you said 'Remember who they are?' I know I'm not Terra, but..."

Xion understood immediately what was going on. "Shit... Okay. I can help you. But..."

Sora stared at her for a moment.

Xion leaned in, as if to tell a secret. "Organization XIII was made up of ex-Council members. They're all dead."

Sora couldn't believe his ears. "What... what do you mean?"  
"Xehanort was originally the leader of the Council... but he got greedy and tried to steal the Crest of Chaos from Ansem the Wise. When Ansem died, it was Xehanort's Heartless that stole it from Ansem's heart while it was on its way up to Kingdom Hearts. Now he's after the Crest of Conspiracy."

Sora was angry. He couldn't believe a word Xion was saying, even if it was the truth. "Why are you bullshitting me, Xion? Who are you trying to protect? What are you trying to protect?"

"Sora... Without both light and darkness, the heart can't stand up on its own, unless it has the Crest of Conspiracy or the Crest of Chaos. But you can only get that title by being your party's respective leader. That's why a Prince of Darkness and a Princess of Light have to get together. It keeps the balance of power in check indefinitely. If Xehanort's plan succeeds, he'll be the overlord of the universe... There will be no balance, and the entire universe will rip itself apart."

"Does Xehanort know this?"

"Who knows. He's a madman as it is, and he always has been. That's why he killed all of the members of the Council, and had so many of them rebelling against him when his Nobody was in charge of Organization XIII."

Sora was shocked. "How long has this been going on? And what does this mean for us?"

"Well, it's been going on since before you were born... I really was hoping that you were Terra, for that reason. Nobody knows where the original three Keyblade Masters went. They were supposed to protect us, in this sort of emergency. But now..."

"Now we've got a deranged madman who's got control over one of the people who has a Crest of Chaos. And I'm not about to kill him, not if there's another way to go about killing Xehanort, at least."

"So where is it? The Crest of Conspiracy? Kairi told me you had it."

"You spoke to Kairi...?"

"Yes. That's why I took her heart when she died. She gave her life of her own free will."

Sora was devastated upon hearing this revelation. "Why... why did she choose to die?"

"The Council of Light is granted a certain amount of control over the Princess. They are allowed to keep in contact with her, and otherwise keep tabs on her. But they have to be given this right from the very beginning, by the Princess herself."

"So... Kairi gave her life so that they couldn't find the Crest of Conspiracy..."

"And by the time she died, she no longer had it, and she was the last person who knew where it was. That rendered Xehanort's plan useless as well. And it'll be in vain unless you give it to me."

"Whoa, hold on." Sora glared at Xion. "Why would I give it to you? You were just working with him. Xehanort, I mean. Even if I knew where it was..."

"And what if I told you that the heart I stole from Kingdom Hearts is the only one that can make use of it? What if I told you that I stole that heart in order to make sure it was kept out of his hands?"

Sora thought about this for a moment. "Then show it to me. When the next Princess is born, I want to be right next to her... I want to protect her. That's the least I can do..."

Xion understood this. She took the heart from her coat and gave it to Sora. Then, she started fading away.

"Xion!" he shouted.

"This was my purpose, Sora. I'm done now." She shed a single tear. "I want you to know... that there's an infinite, unstoppable love for you in that heart. It's so much stronger than anything I've ever seen or felt..."

Sora dropped to his knees.

"You know what to do, Sora."

Those words echoed in his head for a moment. Sora got up, and turned to face Naminé. "This is yours, I believe."

The Oathkeeper chain in his breast pocket started glowing profusely. Sora took it out, allowing it to fuse to the heart and become one with Naminé.

Xion nodded at both of them, before completely fading away into the darkness.

With a blinding flash, Naminé's new heart was completed, and entered her body. Sora embraced her, his resolve strengthened beyond anything he could have imagined just minutes before.

_Thank you... Xion._

_**A/N: The wait for the next one is gonna be a while. Expect fluff. Action scenes tend to tire me out, because they require a lot more description than I'm normally willing to give.**_

_**Anyway, RnR! Hope you enjoyed it! And again, sorry about the big wait time on this one. I'm meticulous.**_


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